Salt is one of the most important ingredients of any dish. Salt is invariably added to whatever we cook. In fact, salt is also added to most of the manufactured food products as a preservative to enhance flavour, colour, and texture. Our body get its daily fix of sodium chloride from salt but too much salt is also not good for health. It is a known fact that high salt intake can trigger high blood pressure. Excessive salt content makes the water stored in the body push up the blood pressure levels. Abnormally high blood pressure can have a negative impact on the functioning of arteries, kidneys and brain, leading to serious problems like heart stroke, heart attack and kidney failure.
'Prevention is better than cure'. A recent study published in The British Journal BMJ says that you can avert and reduce the risk of heart attack by limiting the intake of salt in your food. High blood pressure is one of the most rampant causes of heart attack across the globe. So, reducing salt intake may cut down the chances of high blood pressure and thereby, of heart attack as well.
(Also Read: How Much Salt Do You Need In A Day?)
Excessive salt in diet may cause serious heart problems like heart attack.
A meta-analysis was carried out of 133 randomised trials with strong evidence about cutting salt intake and its effects. The team of researchers realised that there was a direct link between stable blood pressure and reducing dietary sodium content.
Dr. Icilma Fergus from New York's Mount Sinai Hospital said, "The importance of this study is that it shows that the reduction in sodium results in blood pressure reduction widely across multiple populations, not just in populations who were initially deemed as salt-sensitive, such as African Americans."
Reducing salt intake may help people dealing with hypertension caused due to high blood pressure and also reduce their chances of acquiring heart problems.
"At 130/90 you already begin to see changes in the vasculature (blood vessels) of the kidneys and some hardening of the arteries, so having blood pressure in the lower range is beneficial," added Fergus.